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Location and reviews (please see Disclaimer) of pubs in the centre of Henley.
This map is 'clickable', just pick a pub number (red circles) and get the information. There is also a list of the pubs below!
Any comments or additions please send them in using our submission page.
Information on some pubs not on the map is also available.
Also, please feel free to send in your own pub reviews and see them appear here (Any pub within 18 miles of Henley)! Again, to submit your review please use our submission page.
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reviews on the full reviews pages!
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Anchor -- Angel (on the Bridge) -- Angel (Over the Bridge) -- Argyle -- Old Bell Inn -- Bird in the Hand -- Bull -- Edwardian -- Horse & Groom -- Kings Arms -- Queen's Head (Idle Hour) -- Rose & Crown -- Row Barge -- Sarasens Head -- Three Tuns -- Two Brewers -- Victoria Arms -- Wheatsheaf -- Old White Hart -- Little White Hart
1. Anchor - Friday Street (Brakspears) 
Potentially a great little town pub down near the river (swans not welcome), however, it is let down by poor beer and a very rude landlord. Cosy atmosphere, one very local and chatty bar, another with games (i.e. Bar billiards, darts, TV). Interesting collection of 'things' hanging from the walls. The pub has been described as 'miserable as sin during the winter, but great in the summer'. This is in part because of the quiet and secluded garden which is complete with rabbits, cats etc. It has a reputation for good food, but reports are varied. Beware of the landlady's language and cellar skills, as both may offend!
The pub is so trendy you can even e-mail (anchor@loud-n-clear.com) them!
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2. Angel - On the bridge (Brakspears)
Henley's only riverside pub, hence popular with tourists, crowded in summer, impossible to get in during the regatta. Prices tend to be high, and even higher during the regatta. Beer quality variable and often served in plastic glasses. Watch out for the brass plaques on the bar floor which state what famous person had stood where. Bar staff variable in quality and have been know to be rude! Food is variable and reported to be over-priced. Swans are regulars but rarely buy a round. Now under new management.
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3. Angel - Over the bridge (Brakspears)
A little pricey, but good food and one of the more extensive dining areas. This is the place to take someone out for a bite to eat where privacy is important. Nice atmosphere. Handy for Henley cricket club grounds which are next door. ... business people a lot of the time, even in the evenings. Do a great fancy dress on New Years Eve. Garden backs onto the busiest road in Henley! Service has been known to be slow.
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4. Argyle - Falaise Square (Moorlands)
The only Scottish thing is it's name. It has some huge big round tables and lovely chairs on a split level bar area. Horrible carpet. Used to do reasonably good lunches although the carpet tended to destroy your appetite! It was a good pub from New Years Eve and Burns Night when they really played on the Scottish angle! One saving grace is that they do occasionally have Moorlands' Old Speckled Hen (5.2% ABV) on tap.
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5. Old Bell Inn - Bell Street (Brakspears) - now has a new name!
Appears to have changed hands a few times recently and been refurbished. It was among the best places in town for Sunday roast dinner for less than five quid but we have not received any reports since the recent changes. The bar is small with low ceilings, chummy and interesting. Dining in the rear, and a mini garden comprising of a table on concrete at the back of the kitchens! Really friendly staff. The ladies loo has a heated toilet seat which is a fantastic experience and worth testing! Good beer. Two points of interest are the stained glass door and a window which was broken by a rowing crew one regatta and when they replaced it they all signed their names.
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6. Bird in the Hand - Greys Road (Free House)
Great pub! Very unusual for Henley as it is free house. Remained empty for a number of years but has now re-opened. It is a haven for real ale fans as it carries the best range of beers in Henley (e.g. Fullers London Pride, Carlsberg Export, to name but 2 of the 8). Garden has rabbits and birds! The pub also has a great pub dog called Monty.
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7. Bull - Bell Street (Brakspears)
This is three pubs in one. The front bar is a typical town pub bar. Big thick curtains, a large bar area, a TV and some old chairs. The middle section of the pub is now a rather smart looking Thai restaurant which reportedly serves good food. At the back is a functioning skittle alley. It really is a pub of contrasts. Live music sometimes. Now appears to have an extended late night licence.
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8. Imperial Hotel - Station Road (?)
At one point this may have been called the Edwardian and is now called the Imperial. The Imperial is a Thai restaurant as well as being a hotel. The hotel is very near the train station and from the bar you can see the main station platform. This makes it a very handy location to wait for trains!
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9. Horse & Groom - New Street (Courage)
The Horse & Groom was closed but recently reopened after a refit by Morlands. Recent visits have shown that the pub is doing a good trade and has certainly improved from it's 'house-of-doom' period of a few years ago.
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10. Kings Arms - Falaise Square (formerly Brakspears, now CLOSED) 
After the kitchen fire Brakspears sold the pub to Henely Town Council and it is now a Citizens' Advice Bureau and Tourist Information centre.
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11. Queen's Head (Idle Hour) - Duke Street (Brakspears)
Recently this pub has undergone a transformation from a dingy town pub and gained a new look. They have also changed the name....
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12. Rose & Crown - New Street (Brakspears)
This has to be THE fish and chips pub in Henley. They are now served two nights a week, Tuesdays and Friday, frying time is 7 pm. Fish batter is made with Brakspears. Underground well inside the pub with a glass cover so that theoretically you can see into it... only it's always full of condensation so you can't! Lots on locals and Kenton theatre actors and playgoers. Three rooms for B & B. Very nice example of a town pub with a very friendly pub dog called Harvey (and a ghost?).
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13. Row Barge - West Street (Brakspears)
Cracking little town pub that doesn't appear to have changed in the last 20 years! Dave, landlord for over 20 years, recently left the pub and it is now under new management. Good beer. This pub is strictly a local since it is hidden away from the general main stream. Has two bar areas which in a strange way seem quite separate in style and customers! The menu is limited but good, and darts and trivia groups are encouraged. Several strange things about this place... the landlord steadfastly refuses to change the pay phone, which is geared to the original decimal coins (is this still true?); ladies and gents loos signs in Welsh (is this still true?). Lovely big tables and benches and lots of space so it's fine if you're in a big group or if there's only a few of you as you will probably be sitting next to lots of other people. Garden is awful... all concrete and just beside the men's loos. They are VERY prompt to throw you out at 11 pm.
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14. Saracens Head - Greys Road (Brakspears)
Another goody. A clean and tidy town pub that has been internally improved in recent years. Very friendly bar people and the landlady is a wonderful character... brilliant fun! Has quiz nights and games etc. Relaxed atmosphere.... a proper pub, where no one is concerned about image or anything. Mainly local customers as it is a bit off the tourist path. The fish van may still stop there on Wednesdays. May have Karaoke nights!
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15. Three Tuns - Falaise Square (Brakspears)
This is a pub in the centre of Henley that has undergone a quite a few changes in character in recent years. For awhile the two bars were knocked in to one, however, it has now returned to its old two bar layout. Pub still has low ceilings and lots of different areas in which to 'hide'. Thebar in the backyard, which was very popular with the underage crowd, is no more. The pub can get really crowded.
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16. Two Brewers - Wargrave Road - NOW CLOSED (Brakspears)
How could they close this pub? Closed in November 2002 and is going to be converted in to new offices for Brakspears.
Another pub in Henley that has undergone a few changes. Since Graham and Deana left it has had two different landlords and was even closed for awhile. On a recent visit the pub was particularly quiet, although it was the 2nd January 1999 and the few locals that were in seemed to be complaining about how hard they had partied two days earlier! Interesting pub interior, bar has a tiled canopy, many small little rooms/bar areas, tile on the wall near the loos shows the high water mark from a flood of the Thames. Food in the past has been very good and should continue to be as they have a well equipped kitchen. Bed and breakfast is available (or was!). Recent reports suggest that the pub is again thriving and serving good food.
Latest news is that the downstairs is to be converted in to an antiques shop (!!!), the upstairs in to offices, and flats are to be built at the back of the old pub.....
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17. Victoria - Back of the Town Hall (Whitbread?)
This may have been the worst pub in Henley. However, the pub has recently undergone major interior renovations. Rumoured to be popular with kids. The Victoria is the opposite corner to the Henley Police Station, which perhaps lends some degree of normalcy. New friendly landlord. Live music on Friday and Saturday nights. Open to midnight some evenings. Very local orientated. Pool table.
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18. Wheatsheaf - Reading Road - NOW CLOSED (Brakspears)
Yet another Brakspears pub that has been closed. The doors finally shut in Novermber 2000. The old pub was demolished (2001? 2002?) and building on the site started in 2003
One of the lesser known treasures of Henley.... it may look like awful from the outside, and even from the inside, but there is something good about this pub. Another 'proper' pub... full of real people... some lovely characters... e.g. the landlady who tells people off for swearing in front of ladies, the drunken 70 year old alcoholic woman who comes in with her tiny dog in a bag etc. Lounge bar is very cosy.
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19. Little White Hart - Riverside - NOW CLOSED (Brakspears)
The pub seems to be thriving and offered some good quality beer on my last visit. This is Henley's other riverside pub (although there is a road in the way!), and also a hotel! There was a change in landlady in November 1997 when Gillian Fitzpatrick (widow of the former landlord Brian) left and Phil and Tina Wilkins took over. Phil and Tina told the Henley Standard that they don't plan to make any major changes. Lots of business people at lunch, and the bar is almost always crowded. Service good and quick. Lesser known garden too... lots of ex-rowers. Recent reports suggest that the pub has undergone some changes with a reduction in food quality and service. Rumour has it that the pub is in line for major changes and expansion within the next few years.
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20. Old White Hart - Hart Street (formerly Brakspears, now CLOSED)
A classic old coaching inn that is now closed and being converted in to offices. A great loss.
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21. Wetherspoons - The Catherine Wheel
A classic old coaching inn that has been converted in to a Wetherspoons.
After an extensive, and expensive, refit the pub has re-opened in November 2002. Very nice and tidy large pub. Quite pleasant. Beer is cheap and of a good quality. Very busy and seems very popular.
This pub may cause a few more pubs in Henley to close as on recent visits to pubs in the town centre the Catherine Wheel has been very busy and the other pubs empty.
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Disclaimer: We, the reviewers, have expressed our own personal opinions in the above. We have no connection with Brakspears, the restaurants, clubs, bars or any of the pubs of Henley. All of the above may not necessarily be correct but as far as I can tell it is fairly close!!!
